A Talk with an Empath
by SongByrd47
Summary: A week after "Stranded", Starfire brings it up again. Robin is as confused as to what to do as ever until Raven comes in and talks some sense into his thick skull. Drabble


**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.**

**A Talk with an Empath**

"Idiot, Idiot, Idiot!" yelled Robin, "How could you let this happen! It goes against everything you were taught! You'll get yourself killed, or worse, you'll get _her _killed." He of course got no reply. He _was_ yelling at himself after all.

He was about to continue scolding himself when he heard the door slide open. He cringed, expecting a confused, hurt Starfire to ask him a question he couldn't answer. Again.

To his surprise and relief, he was greeted by a female monotone. "Okay, what's the problem?" Raven asked annoyed. "Huh?" he gulped," What are you talking about?" "Don't play games with me Robin. I can't focus on my book with you in here beating yourself up," she responded. "You heard that?" he blushed," I thought these walls were soundproof…" "They are. They aren't, however, emotion-proof. Empath, remember? I could sense a medley of emotions from you and Star's rooms, and her emotions are usually directly affected by your behavior towards her, so to save time I came here first. No further questions? Good, now answer mine. What's. The. Problem?" she demanded. "Remember when we were stuck on that planet about a week ago?" he started. "Yes…" replied Raven, "Did something happen between you and Star?" "Yes. No. Sort of?" he offered. "Okay, make up your mind, or I'll have to go ask Starfire," she responded, now greatly annoyed. "No! Don't do that!" said Robin hastily. Raven raised an eyebrow. "What I mean is, she'll be even more confused than me, especially after what happened earlier today," he explained, "Again, she asked a straightforward question, and again I gave her a half-baked answer. Why did she have to bring it up again?!"

Raven was becoming interested now. "Okay, start from the beginning. What happened on that planet?" she asked. "You know how Cyborg was teasing me and Star about being a couple? Well, Starfire questioned my negative response. At first I thought she misunderstood, but it turned out she understood perfectly, so when I didn't answer those questions, it hurt her feelings. She started avoiding me, and then there was this whole thing where some rock gave out beneath us, and she couldn't fly, so I shot out a grappling hook and swung us into a cave. Then she explained that her powers were driven by emotion, and I confused her so she couldn't use them, and then she gave me a very straightforward question: What do I think about her?" "And how did you respond?" asked Raven. "I went on and on about her powers and bravery and crap, and when I was just about to finally admit my feelings to her, that stupid screaming monster had to come in and ruin the moment, and…"

He would have kept going, but Raven cut him off. "And what are those feelings?" she inquired. "I like her. A lot. I might even…" he trailed off. "Love her?" finished Raven. "Maybe, and that's what worries me. I can't fall in love with her. Bru- I mean Batman always said to never get romantically involved with a teammate. Criminals would take advantage of our relationship by using one of us to get to the other," he finished sadly.

This earned him a slap to the back of the head courtesy of Raven

"Ow! What the heck was that for?!" he exclaimed. "So what you're telling me is that if Starfire's life had been in serious danger a couple of months ago, you wouldn't have risked yours to save her?" questioned Raven. "Of course I would have," he sighed. "Face it Robin, whether you're a couple or not, you'd put yourselves in danger to save each other anyway. As far as villains deliberately using you two against each other, you flirt with each other all the time and show 'special' concern for each other, so everyone already _thinks_ you two are together. The only difference between the scenarios is that in this one, you two are miserable, lonely, and thinking wistfully of each other," Raven replied.

Robin started to protest, but realized quickly that Raven was right.

"Face the facts and go talk to her," insisted Raven, "I'm really getting sick of you breaking her heart. Lately she seems to be getting numb from it. If you don't respond to her affections soon, she's going to move on and fine someone who will." The thought of his Starfire being somebody else's girlfriend made him feel like he had been slammed in the chest with a bowling ball. "You're right" he sighed in defeat. "Yes, I am. Now you'd better go talk to her. She was talking to Speedy on her communicator earlier," prodded Raven

Somewhere at the moment, Kid Flash was in a corner mourning his speed record.

_**TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT TTTTTTT**_

_KnockKnock_. "Hey Star, it's Robin. Can we talk?" Robin asked through her door, which unlike his was not soundproof. "Just a moment my friend!" she called before talking back into her communicator. "I appreciate the kind offer Speedy," he heard her say. The next part was muffled. Then, Robin heard her say goodbye and walk towards the door.

"Hello Robin. I apologize for the delay. Speedy wished to ask me some things," she said. "L-like what?" questioned Robin nervously, knowing the answer. "He wished to ask me out on an earthly date," she answered nonchalantly. "And did you agree?" Robin pried further. "I declined his offer," replied Starfire. Robin let out a sigh of relief, causing Starfire to raise an eyebrow. "Sorry if I seem nosy," he apologized, "But we need to talk." Starfire nodded and motioned for him to come in, closing the door behind him.

"So, what is it that you wish to discuss?" she asked. "Star, back on that planet, I didn't get to finish what I wanted to say." He took a deep breath before continuing, "I was going to say: I don't mind having a girlfriend. I actually kind of like the idea. And if I was going to have a girlfriend, I'd want her to be you." Starfire blushed at this. "Star, I really like you," he said shyly. Both were blushing now. "I 'really like you' as well," replied Starfire. Robin grinned goofily at this before glancing over at her clock. "It's getting late," he observed, "I'll let you get to sleep." She walked to the doorway with him and said, "Thank you for finally being honest with me about your feelings." "Thanks for waiting this long to hear them. 'Night Star," he replied. He turned to go, but before he did, Star leaned down and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Goodnight Robin," she smirked, closing the door between them.

She had kissed him! He was now sure his cheeks were permanently stained red. For that moment, the normally serious leader couldn't have been happier.

And he owed it all to a talk with an empath.


End file.
